Car-door-operating lever and seal



April 8 1924.

1;489,648- E. H. SCHMIDT CAR pooR OPERATING LEVER AND SEAL 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ////./MFL

III 1 INVENTOR Filed July 29. 1922 A'ITORN EY April 8 1924. 1,489,648

E. H. SCHMIDT CAR DOOR OPERATING LEVER AND SEAL Filed July 29. 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 3 .23 .3. E315.

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INVENTOR,

W TNESSES ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 8, 1924.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ERNST H. SCHMIDT, OF NEW BRAUNFELS, TEXAS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-THIRD TO HARRY A. WAGENFUEHR AND ONE-THIRD T0 HUGO T. HOLZMANN, BOTH OF NEW BRA'UNFELS, TEXAS.

CAR-DOOR-OPEBATING LEVER AND SEAL.

Application filed July 29, 1922.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ERNsT I-I. SCHMIDT, a citizen of the United States, residing at New Braunfels, in the county of Coma] and State of Texas, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Car-Door-Operating Levers and Seals, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to fastening devices for freight car or other slid-able doors, and has for its object the provision of a novel lever-operated mechanism for starting the door to open it and for drawing the door tightly to closed position, said lever mechanism being also provided with seal ing means.

It is well known that freight car doors frequently stick owing to swelling of the wood as well as distortion caused by the severe twisting strains to which the doors are subjected, this sticking making it frequently a difficult matter to start the door when it is desired to open it, or to close the door tightly. It often happens that trainmcn and others resort to crowbars or the like for prying open a door which is stuck, and such treatment is naturally very detrimental to the door and its frame. It is with these facts in mind that I have designed the lever and sealing mechanism which forms the subject matter of this application.

An important and more specific object is the provision of a keeper hook mounted on the door frame and having cooperating therewith a pivoted lever carrying a hasplike element, which is engageable over the hook when strain is applied to the lever for closing the door, and which is engageable against the hook as an abutment when pressure is applied to the lever for forcing the door partly open, the lever being provided with the sealing means.

Another object is the provision of a device of this character which is so constructed that the hasp member may be removed when the lever is in the door opening posi tion, it being a fact that the hasps of freight car doors frequently become broken owing to the severe strains thereon and therefore require replacement.

The construction, mounting and operation of the device will be readily comprehended from a study of the description taken in Serial No. 578,353.

conjunction with the accompanying drawing, though it is to be distinctly understood that the detailed disclosure is merely an exemplification of a preferred development of the invention, and that I reserve the right to adopt many variations and make such modifications as will widen the field of its usefulness, provided always that such changes involve no departure from the salient features or spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

In the drawings wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts in the several views:

Figure 1 is an elevation of my device in locking position, the seal being shown in position, but unsecured.

Figure 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Figure 1 showing the seal in closed position.

Figure 3 is a cross section on the line 33 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a cross section on the line 14 of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a similar view on the line 5-5 of Figure 1.

Figure 6 is a somewhat diagrammatic plan view of the mechanism with the door closed and the seal open. I

Figure 7 is a similar view with the operating lever released.

Figure 8 is a similar view showing the lever swung to force the door partly open.

Figure 9 is a similar view showing the use of the keeper hook as an abutment for applying opening pressure to the door.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the letter A designates a portion of the door frame of a freight car, and D designates the slidably mounted door. In carrying out my invention I provide, upon the door frame or jamb A, a casting 10 bolted in place and formed with a keeper hook 11 having an outstanding horn 12. The hook extends away from the door and the horn is nearer to the door than the hook. Secured upon the door B is a casting formed as a plate-like body 13 provided with suitable holes for the passage of securing bolts 14:. Intermediate its ends this member 13 is formed with knuckles 15. At the upper edge near the end most remote from the edge of the door is formed a projection 16, below which is located an integral staplelike member 17 having upper and lower arms 18 formed with alining openings 19.

The numeral 20 designates the operating lever, which is formed at one end with a knuckle 21 disposed between the knuckles 15 and pivoted by a rivet 22 or the like. The intermediate portion of this lever is widened and formed with an opening23 for the ac commodation of the staple member 17.

The numeral 24k designates the hasp element which is of somewhat plate-like form, and which has one end formed with an opening 25 engageable upon the keeper hook 11, and which has its other end bifurcated to define arms 26, which straddle the pivoted end of the lever 20, and which are pivoted thereto by a headed pin 27 prevented from longitudinal displacement by a cotter pin 28. Formed on the member 13 is a laterally eX tending lug 29, which overhangs the head of the pin 27 when the door is closed for the purpose of preventing withdrawal of the pin by an unauthorized person. However, when the door is open, the head of the pin 27 will be disposed outwardly of this guard lug so that the in may be removed when replacement of t e hasp element 24 is necessary.

Disposed against the outer face of the projection 16 is the upper end of a slidable locking pin 30, which has its lower end engageable through the registering openings 19 in the staple member, and which has its upper end formed with a slot 31 engaged upon a retaining rivet 32 which is passed through the projection 16. The upper extremity of this pin is formed with a lug 33 which facilitates handling.

In order that the door may be sealed when closed, the lower end. of the pin is formed with a transverse slot 34, which registers with the open part of the staple member 17, and through which may be passed a bendable sealing strip 35 carrying a conventional seal 36 (Fig.

Assuming that the device has been constructed and installed as above described, and assuming that the door is closed and the parts in the position shown in Figure 2, the operation of opening the door is as follows:

The seal must first be opened, as shown in Figures 6 and 1, and the strip 35 with drawn from the staple member 1'? and pin 30. The operator may then grasp the handle lug 33 and slide the pin upwardly out of the openings 19, and the pin may then be turned if desired or necessary to clear'the widened intermediate portion of the lever 20. The lever 20 is then swung upon its pivot 22 away from the door, as indicated in Figure 7. As the swinging movement of the lever toward the door frame is continued, one edge of the opening 25 of the hasp member willbear against the horn 12 so that pressure upon the lever will force the door into partly open position, as indicated in Figure 8. If the degree of opening is insuflicient to permit the operator to open the door fully by manual means, the hasp member Q tmay he disengaged from the keeper hook 11, and its free end placed against the horn 12, as shown in Figure 9. hen the lever 20 is then swung toward the frame, the horn 12 will serve as an abutment and the leverage will operate to force the door still further open. lVhen the door has been opened to this extent, it is generally a simple matter to open it entirely without the employment of any pry bars or the like.

To effect closing, the opening 25 of the hasp member 24 is engaged upon the keeper hook 11 and the lever 20 is swung toward the door which will naturally cause the door to be forced into engagement with the. frame or jamb. The lever is swung until it rests against the base member 13, the staple member 17 passing through the opening 23 in the lever. Thepin 30 is then moved downwardly so that its lower end will pass through the registering openings 19, and the sealing strip 35 is inserted, as shown in Figure 1, and the seal applied, as shown in Figure 2. The feature of the replacement of the hasp in case of breakage has been already explained and needs no further elaboration.

From the foregoing description and a study of the drawings, it will be apparent that I have thus provided a simply constructed and easily installed lever mechanism for effectively opening and closing the doors of freight cars and the like, suflicient leverage being provided to effect opening even though the door he stuck, without it being necessary to use any tools for exerting a prying action. Owing to the simplicity of the construction and the fewness of the parts, it is apparent that there is nothing to get out of order, and that the device should have a long life and satisfactorily perform all the functions for which it is intended.

While the invention has been shown and described as having the keeper hook on the door jainb and the latching mechanism on the door, it is obvious that the relation of the parts might be reversed and the keeper placed on the door and the other mechanism on the jamb.

hat is claimed is l. The combination with a sliding member and a cooperating stationary member, of a keeper hook mounted on one of said members, a body mounted on the other member, and provided with a staple member, a lever pivoted upon said body and provided with an opening for the accommodation of the staple member, a hasp element pivoted on the lever and engageable with said keeper til hook, and an abutment on the hook engageable by the hasp against which pressure may be applied by the lever to separate the sliding member from the stationary member.

2. The combination with a sliding door and a cooperating jamb, of a keeper hook mounted on the jainb, a body mounted on the door, a lever pivoted upon said body, and a hasp element pivoted on the lever and provided with an opening engageable with said keeper hook, the keeper hook being formed with an outstanding horn constituting an abutment engageable by the end of the hasp element subsequent to the disengagement of the opening from the keeper hook.

3. The combination with a sliding member and a cooperating stationary member, of a keeper mounted on one member, a horizontally swingable lever pivoted on the other member and formed with an opening, a staple member carried by said other member and received within said opening, a slidable locking pin on said other member engageable with the staple member for preventing movement of the lever, a hasp element engageable with said keeper, a removable pivot pin connecting the hasp element with the lever, and means for preventing the removal of the pivot pin when the lever is locked by the locking pin.

4. The combination with a horizontally sliding member and a cooperating stationary member, of a keeper mounted on one member, a horizontally swingable lever pivoted on the other member and formed with an opening, a staple member carried by said other member and received within said opening, a slidable locking pin on said other member engageable with the staple element for preventing movement of the lever, andahasp element pivoted upon the lever at a point spaced from the pivotal point of the latter and engageable with said keeper, said looking pin and staple element being formed with alined openings adapted to receive a seal.

5. The combination with a sliding member and a cooperating stationary member, of a keeper mounted on one member, a body mounted on the other member and formed with knuckles, a lever pivoted to said knuckles and formed with an opening, a staple member on said. body received within said openin a hasp element pivoted upon the lever at a point spaced from the pivot point thereof and engageable with said keeper, and a slidably mounted locking pin mounted on said body and insertible through the staple element for preventing movement of the lever, said pin and staple element having openings which are alined when the pin is in looking position whereby to receive a seal.

6. The combination with a sliding member and a cooperating stationary member, of a keeper mounted on one member, a body carried by the other member and formed with a projection and a staple member with its arms provided with openings, a lever pivoted upon said body and having an opening for the reception of the staple member, a hasp pivoted upon the lever and engage.- able over said keeper, a retaining element carried by the projection, and a slidable and swingable locking pin insertible through the openings in the staple member and having a slot receiving the retaining element and having a transverse opening therethrough alining with the space between the arms of the staple for receiving a seal when the pin is in looking position.

7. The combination with a sliding member and a cooperating stationary member, of a keeper mounted on one member, a lever pivoted on the other member and formed with an opening, a staple element carried by said other member received within said opening, seal receiving locking means insertible through the staple element for preventing movement of the lever, a hasp member pivoted upon the lever and cooperating with said keeper, and means cooperating with the hasp member and lever for forcing the sliding member away from the stationary member when the lever is swung outwardly.

8. The combination with a sliding member and a cooperating stationary member, of a keeper hook mounted on one member, a lever pivoted on the other member, and a hasp element pivoted upon the lever at a point remote from the pivot of the lever, and having an opening to engage said keeper hook, the pivot pin connecting the hasp with the lever being removable, and a guard carried by one end of said other member and overhanging said pivot pin when the lever is in locked position.

9. The combination with a sliding door and its jamb, of a keeper hook mounted on the jamb and having an outstanding horn which is nearer to the door than the hook, a lever pivoted 011 the door, and a hasp element pivoted upon the lever at a point remote from the pivot of the lever, and havin an opening to engage said keeper hook, sai hasp element being removable from the keeper hook to engage the horn in prying the door open.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto afiixed my signature.

ERNST H. SCHMIDT. 

